Band:	Iron Savior
Album:	Rise Of The Hero
Style:	Power metal
Release date:	February 2014

01. Ascendence
02. Last Hero
03. Revenge Of The Bride
04. From Far Beyond Time
05. Burning Heart
06. Thunder From The Mountains
07. Iron Warrior
08. Dragon King
09. Dance With Somebody [Mando Diao cover]
10. Firestorm
11. The Demon
12. Fistraiser
13. I've Been To Hell [re-recorded version] [limited edition bonus]

"In the beginning was the Riff."

We've just had the time to archive a nothing more than poor 2013 regarding the heavier side of power metal, and Piet Sielck and his team come back, with the usual three-year frequency, showing us how it's done.

Anyone who's even slightly familiar with Iron Savior knows what to expect from Rise Of The Hero, as the German band isn't exactly known for bringing in innovations to their music from album to album. To be honest, let's say that you could take every album of theirs since 2002's Condition Red and mix their songs randomly, and few people would notice the difference.

As in The Landing, a short intro leads to the album, starting with the rip-roaring "Last Hero", probably the band's best opener since "Titans Of Our Time" from the aforementioned Condition Red. Rise Of The Hero rattles off one track after another all in the same mood, and these ones, despite slowly dropping in terms of quality, are all strong sing-along live anthems. The only song able to break this series is the cover of Mando Diao's "Dance With Somebody", which the band internalizes perfectly, impregnating that indie track with the trademark Iron Savior sound.

The album flows pretty much in the same vein, with "The Demon" slightly slowing down the rhythm and "Fistraiser" being the usual hymn to heavy metal, just to end up with a revisiting of "I've Been To Hell", off 2001's Dark Assault.

Rise Of The Hero offers nearly an hour of strong, heavy power metal, the kind of power metal you'd like to blast while riding your Harley-Davidson on a wide highway, wearing showy sunglasses and a black leather jacket, and your mighty beard hovering in the air.

As expected, this new release has precisely zero originality, but confirms the value of the riff-based style that Iron Savior crafted through the years. With what's probably his best album in a decade, Piet Sielck throws down the gauntlet to his ex-mate Kai Hansen, now in Gamma Ray, for the power metal Album Of The Year.